Domestic

As many remove masks on campus, it seems the nation is experiencing a similar phase. According to the Washington Post, Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Biden’s chief medical adviser, said that the U.S. is in a “transitional phase” of exiting the pandemic towards an endemic. 

Tesla’s CEO, and richest man in the world Elon Musk, is buying Twitter for $44 billion. His plan, according to NPR, is to take the company private. NPR reports that he plans on opening any restrictions that the social media platform has on free speech by removing many of the rules in place. Musk also plans on improving the business aspect of Twitter as well. 

International 

According to Reuters, European leaders have denounced Russian officials for blackmailing Bulgaria and Poland by halting gas supplies on Wednesday. This occurs while Reuters also reported that Russia is advancing in Ukraine, taking many villages. Reuters even said that their pro-Ukraine rallies in the city of Kherson—one of the first urban cities seized in the invasion—were broken up by Russian forces with tear gas and stun grenades. 

Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews, of Australia, has accused China of deliberate election interference, according to NBC News. She said that China, during the Australian election campaign, announced its security pact with the Solomon Islands to pull out the rug on her party’s ability to be reelected. Andrews’s party, the conservative Liberal Party, has accused the Chinese Government of wanting its competitor, the center-left Labor Party, to win the May 21 election.